Who needs coaches, am I right? The Sierra Linda High School football team certainly knows what I’m talking about. On Friday, they traveled 3 hours from Phoenix to Yuma, Arizona, to play a game without their coaching staff… And they won!
By now, you probably have some questions, like where were the coaches? Or who accompanied the kids? We’ll try and answer them for you.
It all started when Sierra Linda’s varsity head coach was apparently suspended for an equipment issue during a game involving the freshman team, which he also coaches. According to the Arizona Republic, a referee during last Wednesday’s freshman game involving Sierra Linda noticed that none of the players on the team were wearing hip girdles. After discussing the issue with his colleagues, the head of officials for the league decided that the game would be suspended due to unsafe conditions, and head coach Nate Gill was suspended as well.
Angered by the AIA’s decision to suspend Gill, his fellow coaching mates decided they too would sit out the varsity team’s game just two days later. However, the players still planned to play in the game, and the school decided to inform the parents that their kids were traveling to the game without their coaches a few hours after the team had already departed.
Here’s the email that the school sent out to the parents of the players. It was forwarded to Arizona Republic by Corina Mejia, who’s son plays on the team, and it reads as follows:
“I would like to inform you that the SLHS Varsity Football game in Yuma is still on schedule and the team departed at approximately 1:30 p.m.,” the email said. “Unfortunately, our SLHS coaches decided they were not going to accompany the team on this trip. Consequently, we had to scramble to find certified, highly qualified and authorized coaches to substitute in their place.
“I apologize for the late notice as we were still unsure we could make this happen. We did not want our players to miss out on the opportunity to play in the game and we sent 99% of the team.”
With the replacement coaches, and the players calling the plays, Sierra Linda would go on to win the game, 23-21, improving their record to 6-2 on the season.
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One of the parents sent the following text to the publication after the win:
“So our boys won 23-21 coaching themselves calling their own offensive and defensive plays,” a parent texted. “Parents, coaches and the community are so extremely proud of what these young men accomplished Friday night and also so far this season.
“And it only speaks to the culture coach Gill and his staff have patiently groomed into the program and these boys the last few years.”
However, not all of the parents were impressed. Mejia says she’s been trying to get to the bottom this whole ordeal as she continues to wonder why the school sent the players to a game without their coaches, and why the parents were only informed of all this after the kids had already departed on their 3-hour road trip.
According to Mejia, the superintendent of the Tolleson Unified School District has told her that an investigation into the matter is underway.
